Then and Now
by TwilightRPWritingContest
Summary: Entry 2: By EsmeAliceRose. "At eighteen and nineteen, they were foolishly in love without knowing it...will five years after a devastating breakup and meeting again at a Christmas party change their emotions and make them fall in true love with each other? A song helps them realize."


**This is my entry for TwilightRPWritingContest.**_  
_

_"Goodbye, Esme…I love you," were his last words after he kissed her lips until she was dizzy and gasping for air. His footsteps got farther and farther away as she cried out for him._

_"Carlisle! We can work this out! Please!" Esme was blind with tears as she tried to run and catch up to him. She stumbled in her step and gave up; it was too late. At eighteen, he was so afraid of being in a committed relationship, but he loved her more than any other girl he'd dated. He wished that he had one more chance to apologize to her…but she had moved to Ohio, never to be seen again. Her heartbroken plea remained in his mind forever…_

FIVE YEARS LATER

"She shouldn't have left!" Carlisle exclaimed, throwing down the faded picture of him and Esme sitting on a bench in a park. "I was gonna confess my love for her on January 20th! Why did she have to leave to another country? That's being a bit theatrical if you ask me!"

"Really?" his thirteen year old sister, Rosalie asked. "So I should expect the guy I love to dump me three times because he's scared shitless of being in a real relationship with me? Should I wait around and see if he changes his mind? Carlisle, you touched her frenemy's ass! What else was she supposed to do?"

"Shut up, Rose!" he growled.

"You were ranting and interrupting my wrapping Emmett's present. I had to say something!"

"I'm gonna add something else cuz I'm about to get Alice's gift. You were gonna wait three weeks after that commitment talk you had to confess it to her? Dude, you told her you'd marry her in ten years! What the fuck?"

"How do you know this, Jasper?" Carlisle asked his fourteen- year- old brother coldly.

"We had a man-to-man talk and Rosalie listened in," Jasper answered him. "Look, it's too late now…but you're gonna have to find someone else and not repeat the same mistakes you made with Esme."

"I shouldn't have let her go!" Carlisle hid his face in his hands and started to shake with sadness. "Both of you get out!"

"Oh…our brother is the stupidest man alive!" Rosalie muttered under her breath and picked up her boyfriend's already wrapped present. She followed Jasper out and they met up with the fifteen-year-old Swan triplets, Alice, Emmett, and Bella, plus Bella's boyfriend Edward, who was the same age as Jasper.

"So, what's up?" Emmett asked Rosalie cheerfully. He kissed her and she kissed him back happily.

"Our brother is the biggest idiot in the world! He's still moping over Esme Platt, the girl he lost five years ago because of his asinine mistakes! Now, he's spilling all his problems to poor me and Jasper while our parents are out getting us Christmas presents! I wonder how he became a doctor if he's thinking about this woman constantly…she's forgotten all about him, obviously! He hurt her badly, and she'll never come back! He's in a friggin dreamworld…and now he's feeling all guilty, like he usually does during this time!"

"I'm sorry, baby, what should we do?" Emmett murmured into her hair.

"I'll stay away from him and let Mom and Dad deal with his bullshit…they're just too old and we're too young…it's his problem, not ours!"

"You got a point there, Rose," Jasper complimented his sister.

"At least now you're hanging out with us!" Alice said in a bubbly voice. "You guys did your best to lecture him, but no matter what a girl does, she can't get the boy to listen to her! As they say, men are from Mars, and women are from Venus!" Everyone laughed.

"What does that even mean?" Bella asked.

"No clue!" Alice responded. "But here's a more childish and obvious one-girls go to college to get more knowledge, boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider! No offense, guys!"

"None taken," Edward said. "At least us guys aren't stupid!"

"Yeah, you take our lectures pretty well!" Bella told him and they kissed. Alice and Jasper went to another spot in their usual hangout area to make out. Rosalie and Emmett did the same.

"Esme, you fucking bitch! Clean up this goddamn mess!" Charles roared at his girlfriend of five years. Ever since she'd moved to Ohio because of her ex, her life had been a nightmare. She would have rather been a single lady for the rest of her life if she'd known what moving to another state would do to her. It wore her out and made her more broken than she'd ever been in her whole life. She'd take Carlisle's dumping her a thousand times over to avoid Charles and the control he had over her. Esme was twenty-four now and still out of a job. She wanted to move West and become a teacher, but no, her nasty boyfriend wouldn't allow it. He had acted really nice in the beginning, when she was crying over who she thought was her true love, but as the months and years went by, he had gotten crueler and even beat her within an inch of her life. It started with his mocking her every word, "I'm so pathetic and sad because the guy I was dreaming of marrying dumped me three times!" Next came the name-calling. "Esme, you worthless pathetic slut, get over here and make my dinner in five seconds flat!" Black eyes were common; bruises, scars, and scrapes were forever being found on her person when she went to the hospital. She had to tell them she fell down the stairs. Other than the weekly hospital visits, she couldn't go out. She was caged in the house, just like a wild animal, but the only difference was that she was so quiet in the house, you wouldn't know she was there. She screamed and cried when he hit her, but while she did her daily chores for him, she was silent as a church mouse. She had no idea how he got to be so mean, but he was. She'd lost her virginity before she wanted to. She wanted to make love with her soul mate, whoever that may be, but now, her first time experience was ruined. It hurt so badly the first night, and all the nights after. It got worse and worse. Sometimes, he practiced S&M on her and she would suffer from a broken limb as a result of him being too rough with her. She was delicate and easily broken. Esme cried softly as she gathered up the broken pieces of Charles' wine glass into a dustpan and threw them in the trash. He sat there at the table, across from her, sniggering as she wiped her eyes with the palms of her hands.

"You're such a fucking baby…get up!"

Esme struggled to stand. She was so tired from standing up all day, cooking every meal he demanded, that once she reached her full height, she collapsed, halfway on a chair and then slipped back down on the floor. "I'm sorry…I-I can't," she mumbled weakly with tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Come on, you disgusting piece of shit!" He stormed over to where she was and kicked her across the room. She rolled over a few times, sat up dizzily, and looked up at him.

"Please, don't hurt me…it's almost Christmas!" she begged. _Five years since the time he broke up with me…_

"Who gives a damn? You want Christmas? I dress up as Santa Claus, you sit on my lap and tell me what you want, and give me a lap dance! Then you make cookies for me and my friends while we have our way with you! You're a rotten slave, that's what you are!" He pulled her up by her hair as she shrieked with pain and he shoved her on the couch. "Filthy rat!" The blow struck the side of her face so hard that blood streamed down her cheek and chin. So many bloodstains were on the floor, mixing with her tears…she was enduring so much torture…when he was finally finished with her, the phone rang. He grumbled, pulled himself out of her, and answered the phone rudely.

"Yeah, who's this?" His tone changed to one of faked politeness. "Oh…hello, Mr. Gomez…your wife is throwing a party? I can take my wife? Wonderful! All the way in Forks? Well, you're the boss, so you get to decide where the party is…oh, nonsense, it should be you who chooses, you are the man of the house…okay, see you then, bye!"

Esme's ears perked up at the mention of her old hometown. Would Carlisle still be there? Did he move on to another woman like she had? _Oh my God, what if he doesn't even remember me?_ She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Esme!" he shouted, startling her out of her thoughts. "We're going to my boss' Christmas party and we have to bring gifts for the gift grab…boring, I know, but this is my boss…I gotta do what he says! You're packing our suitcases…ordering our tickets for the plane…cleaning up the house spick and span…while I go out to get the presents. Goodbye!" He slammed the door shut in her face and then she got to work. When he returned home, she answered the door, wearing a sparkly black skirt and a red blouse she was planning to have on for the party.

"You look like a drab loser, but whatever, no matter what you wear, I'll look better," he snickered and dumped the sports jersey in her hands. "It's from me, nothing will be from you!" he cackled evilly. "You're going empty-handed!"

Esme shook her head. She'd secretly packed photos of her and Carlisle when they were younger and sometimes she even wore his clothes he'd given her before when they were supposedly best friends with benefits. They never had sex, but they did kiss a lot. Esme wasn't sure if there were any feelings behind it, but now she knew that she was the only one who loved him, even though he said it to her while kissing her goodbye. She sat on her suitcase and cried until Charles kicked her off.

"Carlisle, what is your deal? It's like you're not even into me anymore!" his new girlfriend, Gabriela freaked out in his face one night. "You won't even take me to the dance? It's Carmen and Eleazar Gomez…they have a mansion, remember?

He liked the Gomezes, but he just didn't feel it with Gabriela. "Look, Gab…there's been so many things on my mind, but to make it up to you, I'll go with you that night."

"REALLY? YAY YAY A THOUSAND TIMES YAY!" Gabriela squealed in his face, much too loud for his liking. She was plastic, Esme was real…Esme was quiet and considerate of people's feelings besides her own…Esme was supposed to be his, but he stupidly let her get away.

Carlisle brought a silver, sparkly necklace for the gift grab because something in him made him think he would get a woman he picked randomly out of a hat. He dressed in a black suit and red tie to match the red stripes of Gabriela's candy cane dress. He rarely, if ever, kissed her, and they drove to the party in silence. He was happy to find out Renee and Charlie were going as well.

Charles slept on the plane the whole time and was rude to everyone, so rude he almost got thrown off.

"I'm not getting up to tell you what I want to drink!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry for his behavior," Esme apologized, embarrassed. "Water with no ice, please."

The flight attendant handed her water and she sipped it. "Thank you."

"Just one night and then we go back!" Charles grunted, half asleep.

They got in at five in the evening and Esme shouted for a taxi. She had to pay for the whole thing because Charles on purpose didn't bring money with him. He snuggled with her in the back of the cab and pretended to be nice, but once they got out, he dragged her to the Gomezes' door and pushed her against it so it would make a sound, like a knock.

"Ow," Esme groaned.

"Oops," Charles chuckled as the door opened. "Hello, Mr. Gomez!"

"Party's about to start," Eleazar said with a smile. "Come in, come in, out of the cold, you guys." Carmen appeared behind him and took their coats and presents. Esme's eyes widened when she saw her old friend.

"Esme, is that you?" she asked in astonishment.

"Yes…I moved to Ohio for a fresh start, but look where that got me!" she whispered. "Living with _him_ is a nightmare! It's bad enough that I'm his girlfriend!"

"Oh, come here!" Carmen gasped at the sight of one of her best friends looking worn out and badly hurt. Esme hugged her and buried her face into Carmen's chest, crying her heart out.

"Women," Charles laughed. "So emotional! I'll let your wife take care of her."

"Looks like they knew each other…well that's a happy reuinion right there," Eleazar said. "Oh, goody, more guests are coming!"

Renee and Charlie walked in the already open door and looked around in amazement at all the colored and white lights that adorned the windows and the huge tree that was decorated with pretty ornaments and a gold star at the top. Charlie shook hands with Eleazar. "Hey, old buddy!" Renee went to join the women. "Carmen!"

Carmen looked up and turned Esme to face Renee. "Look, there's our best friend!"

"Renee!" Esme cheered. She jumped in her arms and they spun around. "Merry Christmas!"

"You too, girl! I've missed you so much!"

All three of them had tears in their eyes, both of joy and sadness. Esme missed them terribly and they were lost without her.

Renee knew Carlisle was coming, but she didn't tell Esme that because it would need to be a pleasant surprise, better than any present her friend would be given that night. By six, the room was so crowded that when Carlisle finally showed up with his girl, he couldn't see anyone familiar among the sea of faces. He set his gift on the table where many presents lay and danced his and Gabriela's way through the crowd. Renee spotted him and guided Esme away to the bathroom. Carmen went to find Carlisle.

"What are we doing?" Esme asked tearfully. She sniffled and kept her arm around Renee.

"Touching up your makeup. You're okay now…you're back and ready to party!"

"Yeah." Esme nodded and managed a smile. Renee fixed her hair and Esme smoothed down her own skirt. It was slightly wrinkled from the plane trip. Renee gave her a small makeover and Esme smiled at herself in the mirror. "I'm back," she agreed with a giggle. "Thank you!"

"Anytime," Renee responded, happy to see her friend excited again.

"Girl, you rock, especially in that green dress!"

"Thanks, Es." Linking arms, they walked out together. Everyone danced crazily to the hot songs for about an hour and then it was time for a slow dance. The boss hired a DJ, and Renee loved a song that would make Carlisle and Esme realize they were meant for each other and she wanted them to remember everything they had up until that night.

"Last Kiss by Taylor Swift, please," she requested.

The DJ nodded and Renee ran back to Charlie. He put his arms around her waist and held her close. She smiled at Esme, who was wrapped in Charles' arms possessively and then at Carlisle who was looking down at Gabriela, dumbstruck. Carmen and Eleazar gazed in each other's eyes with pure love. The couples spun around to the music. Esme hummed the lyrics but then stopped when Charles hissed at her to shut up and dug his fingernails into her arms. She blinked back tears as she heard the words.

_I still remember the look on your face_

_Lit through the darkness at 1:58_

_The words that you whispered_

_For just us to know_

_You told me you loved me_

_So why did you go away?_

_Away_

"Yeah, fuck me!" Carlisle muttered. Gaby looked at him quizzically but then let it go. It was one of his personal problems, she thought.

_I do recall now the smell of the rain_

_Fresh on the pavement_

_I ran off the plane_

_That July 9th_

_The beat of your heart_

_It jumps through your shirt_

_I can still feel your arms_

Esme whimpered and tried not to cry, but it was so hard thinking about the last time she and Carlisle thought of each other. She needed his comfort, but it wasn't there. It would never be there…

_But now I'll go sit on the floor_

_Wearing your clothes_

_All that I know is_

_I don't know how to be something you miss_

_I never thought we'd have a last kiss_

_Never imagined we'd end like this_

_Your name, forever the name on my lips_

"Esme…" Carlisle whispered low under his breath so Gaby wouldn't hear. "I miss you…"

_I do remember the swing of your step_

_The life of the party, you're showing off again_

_And I roll my eyes and then_

_You pull me in_

_I'm not much for dancing_

_But for you I did_

Esme thought of how he used to dance with her, twirl her around, make her laugh…she was in high spirits when she was with him. But now, all she had were memories. She thought she was so lucky…their relationship was too good to be true.

_Because I love your handshake, meeting my father_

_I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets_

_How you kissed me when I was in the middle of saying something_

_There's not a day I don't miss those rude interruptions_

He loved cutting her off with a kiss. It was in his romantic nature. He wanted her in his arms, not anyone else. If only she was at the party…he could run and grab her and kiss her, no matter if she protested or stayed.

_And I'll go sit on the floor_

_Wearing your clothes_

_All that I know is_

_I don't know how to be something you miss_

_Never thought we'd have a last kiss_

_Never imagined we'd end like this_

_Your name, forever the name on my lips_

"Carlisle," Esme sobbed so it was intelligible and Charles couldn't understand her words.

_So I'll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep_

_And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe_

_And I keep up with our old friends just to ask them how you are_

_Hope it's nice where you are_

No place was nice without her. Having her around really brightened the rainy town of Forks. Now that she was gone, he felt cold…lost without her.

_And I hope the sun shines_

_And it's a beautiful day_

_And something reminds you_

_You wish you had stayed_

_You can plan for a change in weather and time_

_But I never planned on you changing your mind_

Fucking three times…he could never make up his mind of whether he wanted to stay with her or leave…but she had to go. She had to make him miss something. She couldn't just be friends with him-not when he'd touched her everywhere! Her heart broke with each lyric. At least Taylor Swift felt her pain.

_So I'll go sit on the floor_

_Wearing your clothes_

_All that I know is_

_I don't know how to be something you miss_

_Never thought we'd have a last kiss_

_Never imagined we'd end like this_

_Your name, forever the name on my lips_

Charles caught Gaby's eye and a horny feeling crossed through him. His dick sprang up, along with Esme's gaze which was previously on her shoes, and Esme spotted Carlisle within a few feet away. She gulped and started feeling flushed. A nervous feeling spread through Carlisle as he let go of Gaby so she could walk to Charles and start dancing with him. Esme looked so beautiful tonight, as she had many times before when they were together. Esme turned around so she wouldn't have to face Carlisle, but he wrapped his arms around her waist. Esme glanced up at him and sighed. "You won't let me go, will you?"

"Never. Not this time," he promised and circled her around to look at him. "I'm so sorry, Esme."

_Just like our last kiss_

_Forever the name on my lips_

_Forever the name on my lips_

_Just like our last…_

"I love you, my darling, I was just too afraid to admit it," he whispered, kissing her lips. "Your partner is cheating on you with mine."

Esme melted into his touch. "Charles is an abusive bastard. I'm glad to get rid of him. So, did you play her too?" she asked, suddenly angry.

"Esme, come on…I was never in love with Gaby or anyone else but you. I didn't realize my feelings until it was too late, but now that I have you, we can be together forever. I wanna marry you and everything! I wanna have your babies…my lovely girl." He stroked her hair and rocked her gently from side to side as she sobbed against his shoulder.

"You don't know how much that means to me. So can we make it official now?"

"Yes, now we can tell everyone," he allowed her.

"I told my best friends already."

"It's okay if Renee and Carmen knew about this, as long as they don't hate me…judging by the glares they're giving me, they kinda do…"

"They'll forgive you, but you have to prove to me that you are loyal and will not ever touch anyone else's ass or hair again!"

"I won't, only you are mine, and only I am yours."

"That's right. So how is your family?"

"They're great. But they're sick of me moping around about letting you go five years ago."

"I shouldn't have ran," Esme murmured guiltily. "It's just that it was the first thing on my mind…and you didn't come after me, so I thought you never loved me after all."

"I'm so sorry," Carlisle apologized. He took her by the hand and together, they walked over to the gifts table. He handed her his gift and held her as she unwrapped it. She smiled and blushed when he put the necklace on her. "You look so beautiful, baby girl."

Esme bit her lip. "Thank you, and you're so handsome…I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

"That was a great song. I love Taylor Swift!"

"I know," Carlisle said and nuzzled noses with his love. "You're so special to me, honey, that I know everything about you. We both made mistakes that night, but now, they can be forgotten because we're reunited."

The boss made a toast to Esme and Carlisle and at the end of the party, she went home with him, but not before thanking Renee and Carmen profusely for bringing them back together. She was overjoyed that Charles had run off with Gaby to Mexico, both never to be seen again.

Carlisle and Esme laid side by side on his bed after she greeted his sister and brother. He caressed her cheek, leaving a trail of blushes where he touched. She blinked slowly and then he kissed her and made her moan all over again. He gave her flowers from his garden and made her swoon all over again, but this time around was even better since everyone knew about their relationship. It was no longer hidden. She used to hate it when it was a secret, but that was no longer the case. She was free and happy with him, and he was sure of his feelings for her. They went on many dates before their wedding and had gorgeous children whom they loved and doted upon. Their story would be told until they died, and it was the best and most romantic one ever.


End file.
